VW Allows Unions into Tennessee plant—But It’s Not a Win for the UAW

Bob Sorokanich

Nov 12, 2014

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The Detroit Free Press reports that Volkswagen has enacted a new policy that will allow multiple labor organizations to represent workers at the automaker’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, assembly plant. This opens the door for the UAW—along with the anti-UAW group American Council of Employees, and any other organization that can prove it represents a significant portion of VW’s Chattanooga workers. It’s a win for labor unions, but not the slam-dunk the UAW hoped for.

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VW’s new policy provides three tiers of representation for labor organizations: Groups that can verify 15 percent of Chattanooga employees as members get to meet once a month with VW’s human-resources team, while those that reach 30 and 45 percent get additional representation, according to a copy of the policy obtained by the newspaper.

So the UAW gets to sit at the table, but it’s not the all-in, UAW-or-nothing exclusivity for which the juggernaut union was angling. The policy does allow particularly large labor groups (those claiming more than 50 percent of workers as members) to apply to the National Labor Relations Board for exclusive bargaining rights.

In a statement, UAW secretary-treasurer Gary Casteel gave VW’s move a lukewarm reception. “We appreciate Volkswagen’s effort to articulate a policy for how it will engage with UAW Local 42 and its members in Chattanooga,” Casteel said. “We have questions about this policy, which we’ll work through in discussions with management. But this is a step forward in building stronger relations between management and employees.”

The UAW will begin verifying its “substantial membership” with VW, which Casteel says is “in excess of a majority of workers at the plant.” VW will use an outside auditor to verify membership, a process that has not yet begun.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam—who along with Sen. Bob Corker encouraged plant workers to vote against UAW representation in February—downplayed the new policy, telling the Freep, “I don’t think there’s really any new news in this.” The UAW, which counts fewer than 400,000 current working members, has long pushed to organize throughout the southern states, including at Mercedes-Benz’s plant in Alabama and Nissan facilities in Tennessee and Mississippi.